The Junto ~ Sports & Other Debates

December 2, 2009

Skiing is my passion; my parents were somewhat the flower children type when I was born and when I was in kindergarten, we moved to Vermont and my dad worked at Killington, and so it began...

Now, I'm managing corporate partnerships for cause marketing at Boston Medical Center and we have a great charity ski race event coming up this March, 2010. It's at Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire & is possibly the easiest mountain in New England to get to – it sits right on route 93 in Franconia Notch. It will be Saturday, March 6, 2010 and it benefits the Boston Medical Center, in honor of Bill Cunningham, a man who ran the ski school there for decades and succumbed to Amyloid. BMC specializes in treatment and research in this disease and tried to help Mr. Cunningham in his battle. Carol Cunningham started this event to benefit the BMC Amyloid treatment and reasearch center in his name.

Here are some quick basics:

- Cannon Mountain/NH Parks Dept. is fully on board and supportive of the event, so gives us great access to on-mountain space and in-lodge space.- Sampling/Exposure to all skiers, not just those partaking in the event will be possible- Signage opps include T-Shirts, banners, website, event promo…- Cannon Mtn is the ‘official’ home mountain of US Ski Team’s most highly decorated skier, Bode Miller- Raffles, prizes & auctions will be in-lodge on day of the event

October 27, 2009

I'm a terrible runner endurance-wise, I can go maybe 3 miles and that'll do me just fine for any jog. Speed-wise? Ahhh..... no so much. Faster than a few, slower than a few. Sometimes I felt like I played sports in high school in spite of, rather than because of, any running proclivities.

However, my dad ran track in high school and he was always running when I was a kid. I remember when I was little and my mom worked during the weekend, he'd take me to the local high school track and he'd run laps and play with me on the football field... letting me 'outrun him' while I carried a football almost half my size down the field. Sometimes he'd want me to run a lap with him as he slowed enough to allow me to keep up (which, in retrospect, must've resulted in a semi-fast walk for him, actually). I'd always tried to get past him running fast down the long stretching straight-aways. It was at this point, my dad - whether he knew it or not - gave me apice of advice that in many ways has helped shape much of my attitude towards work and competing in general.

It's funny when you're grown up what you remember in moments as a young kids in retrospect. I cannot remember a single conversation word for word except one sentence which my dad told me in an almost off-hand way: "When you're racing around the track, do your best on the corners, look to pass others there, because everyone tries to pass each other on the straightaways..."; meaning, go your fastest, focus on passing at that point, bear down just as much then. He said his track coach always told him that in was in the corners that a race can be won (or lost, I see now). Everyone focuses and bears down on the straight-aways; the corners can be mistaken for places to 'get by' on the way to the straight away.

Now, I have no idea as far as track & field whether this is true, false, or just made-up. But it sure-as-shootin' seems to me this is dead-on for competing. In track and in all-else. The corners are your moment for differentiation.

Think of your job requirements as your straight away; you know what you have to do and you go out there and do it. It's not always easy and not everyone does it, but most can and do walk the line they see in front of them. Then there are the corners; the moments when others may rest, or may get distracted, or, even, may simply say to themselves & others, "That's not my job, I don't have to do that...". And, of course they are right. But those are the corners, and believe it or not, the corners can be the easiest place in the world. Where you may find others trying to just get to the next straight-away (job requirements), you will will be proving yourself invaluable to your team (company).

And, you know what else? Your company, or even another company, will end up seeing that there are others who can do what you do and you should be ahead of them, because you can do more. Then... you've won the race. Wash, rinse and repeat.

October 2, 2009

There's a sports writer I read quite a bit, whose opinion and writing style I truly enjoy. Recently, he threw out the idea that because J.D. Drew does not play all the time - and because everyone thinks he is overpaid, Mr. Drew should donate $2 million to a local Boston charity. Hmmm... I thought for a second what my opinion on it was, and realized it was along the lines of....

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.Ha. Ha. Yeah, he needs to placate fans by donating $2 mill somewhere. Right, Sure. Don’t get me wrong, there is no better & more deserving charity than the Jimmy Fund, but just the thought that someone needs to do it to silence critisicm is a faulty premise perched at the top of a slippery slope while simultaneously tilting at windmills and refusing to knock on wood.

So, then, when he’s out ‘x’ number of games he should donate ‘y’ dollars more? Paps should donate a couple of thou when he blows a save?

I cry uncle on the fact he’s overpaid, because we all would’ve had our AGENT say, “whoa there, let’s just stop at $13 mill, don’t get all crazy on us”.

Since the Sox acquired Drew, please don’t tell me that they’ve not signed anyone else because they had too much $ tied up w/ Drew; they are a big market team that decides their own purse restrictions. As fans, we have never suffered due to his salary - the money & the injuries are both straw man arguments; the debate is about performance, and it is there. Pretending its our money or that we KNOW his injuries (or lack thereof) is a (fabricated) debate I will always concede.

So, forgetting about money, unless the fans are paying it, Drew is the best RF out there, bar none.

September 21, 2009

Hey, the the Wild Card team has won MLB's World Series enough for us to know it's not a matter of winning your division. The postseason is The Postseason and all-reguilar season bets are off, regarding homefield advantage. Yet, if the division is attainable, at no extra expense to rested & healthy players, and you hail from Boston or New York, well, to quote Boston's other big coach, it is what it is...

Sox have 14 games against KC, NY, Tor, & Cle (1 team over .500, and it's dem Yankees) — NY has 12 games against LA, Bos, KC, & TB (1 team under .500, and its the Red Sox). Sox are 4 games behind in the loss column, almost controlling own destiny w/ 3 to go in Gotham. Pettitte coming off tired arm, Joba shelled in 3 innings against Seattle, #5 starter for NY going in LA tonight (where NY has not won this yr). NY is on the second city of a west coast trip. I’m just saying I like what’s lined up...

August 31, 2009

By way of family agreement, Paul Byrd took off the first half of the seaon to be with his family, especially his sons who had time to be in school and play baseball, with Byrd himself the coach.

Then, once June hit and he was ready to play, offers didn't exactly come flooding in, leading to the thought that mayvbe this was it... but it wasn't. The Sox picked him up at the beginning of August and yesterday paid dividends to that frugal investment. What Byrd said in the postgame has made him a but of a hero for his team-first, just-happy-to-be-here attitude...

“Any way I can help this team get that, if they need me to clean toilets, I’ll go do that,’’ Byrd said. “I’m excited. Whatever they needed me to do, I’ll do. I told that to Tito. I said, ‘I’ll help you out any way I can. I’ll get ready. Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do.’ ’’

Other Red Sox up notes: Drew continues to have his best month of the season, Victor Martinez has been proving what a great offensive force he is, while adding positive chemistry in the dugout -- he gets along great with Ortiz and I partially credit Papi's resurgence to the fact he likes Martinez and is inspired to some extent by him. Oh yeah, recent edition Billy Wagner struck out the side in relief yesterday...

June 12, 2009

- Did I mention my fondness for Nick Green honing in on his former employer in this series? Lead-off 8th inning single off CC & then the insane spin throw to first… that was a pretty big calculated risk… if he didn’t spin, he wouldn’t have had the zip on the ball to get Jeter, but he loses acuracy — Youk made a solid play reaching for the ball.

- Caption in NY Post article on Yankees — Fools in the Rain (glad THEY said it)

- Nick Swisher doubled off second in a truly idiotic running gaffe; overall he had a deplorable series with miscues and misthoughts… at the end of the game he sat in the dugout looking truly dejected — he was only half an onion away from Freddie Patek

- Looks like the Sox have a thinking 3rd base coach in DeMarlo Hale… yes Pedey could’ve scored, but it was far from given and bases loaded with no outs was perfect, then having Drew tag on the still-shallow sac fly was awesome

- Speaking of which, while Brett Muney did his best Damon impersonation on that 8th inning throw, the Yanks can’t hide Damon’s ineffeciancies anywhere in the OF (yeesh)

- I say Torre would’ve brought in Rivera for 6 outs, given the albatross of being winless against the Sox circling their heads

- He’s probably not out of the woods yet, but doubling his HR total in one series - against the Yankees - sure has to help the Papi psyche

- Trading Penny after that performance is now even easier and more difficult (do you really want him to go away?)

- If Nick Green can play 90% of what he did this series, the talk will be of SS controversy

- Also speaking of which, I do not expect to see Lugo come into a game unless the Sox are in the process of BLOWING OUT a team

- (Sorry… little long, but hey, how often are we 8-0 against the Yankees.. or any team)

- Which leads me to my final question (also first question actually): What is the worst winless streak that the Highlanders/Yankees have ever had against ANY team since 1912? Is this it?

June 10, 2009

- Lowell was a trooper to even slide, given his hip… 2-1 count on Tek that was a missed hit & run; when Tek came in after scoring you could see him talking in explanation mode, along the lines of, ‘Sorry man, I totally missed that’

- Great pick-up by Orsillo last night of throwing at Jeter, Eck somewhat agreeing, then back from commercial & having time to think about it, saying “Ohmigeez, of course they were” — love the honesty from Eck

- Love Nick Green dialing himself in against the pinstripes after being let go by the Yankees last year

- Kotsay stepped in for Ellsbury and caught a tough liner to center after getting twisted & turned tracking it down

- Interesting pitch-calling over the game for Beckett: early part of the game he was a majority of breaking balls, followed up by pounding them on the corners with heat — looked like a well-orchestrated plan to get them off their timing - loved the three straight curves to A-Rod

- Strike zone seemed pretty wide for both sides through the first six innings — I’d guess there was a little inner-mandate to get-this-game-in, due to the weather

- When Delcarmen came in, he was initially squeezed - many pitches that were called strikes for Beckett were balls for Manny. Great that he kept his head, bore down, and started knockin' 'em down